COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- It will be a busy weekend for scoreboard watching as the MLS playoff hunt hits overdrive. No fewer than 13 teams are within immediate striking distance of either the top three slots in their division or the top eight places overall, and the Colorado Rapids are squarely in the hunt as they prepare for a key road match against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.
Colorado sits tied for third in the Western Conference with Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake, and the Rapids look to continue moving up the table as they take on the Red Bulls Saturday, hoping to keep alive a three-game stretch in which their 2-0-1 performance has given new life to their season.
"There's all to play for," interim coach Gary Smith said. "When you look at the way the team's performing right now, we've all agreed in the changing room, I think we can go anywhere and get points."
A win in New York would give Colorado 35 points, allowing the Rapids to leapfrog into second place temporarily while hoping that Kansas City can keep Chivas from holding second with a win later that night.
"We have five games left," said goalkeeper Preston Burpo, sizing up the team's status heading into the final month. "We're right in the thick of it."
Slowing down New York, who is ahead of them on the table but a longshot to clinch one of the three automatic spots from the Eastern Conference, opens up the potential for the Rapids to move into position to claim one of the additional two playoff spots, beyond the three from each conference.
"I believe strongly that we have the group to do that now," Smith said, ready for the challenge of going back on the road where his side has won their last two matches. "They've shown in the last three games what they're capable of. And we'll be going to New York knowing that if we beat New York there, then suddenly that [potential] fourth and fifth place [from the Western Conference] become available to us. So there's plenty to play for, and there's going to be some pressure for New York as well, no doubt about it."
Colorado's resurgence has forced opposing sides to deal with heightened pressure, and as Smith has worked to fortify his defense and bring consistency to an attack that has been somewhat schizophrenic in recent history, he expects foes to take notice and make adjustments.
"We're getting to a point where I hope teams are going to look at us and change the way they play," Smith said. "We look thoroughly at the way our opponents play, what they do. Not to change, but [to determine] how we can be effective within our shape against those opponents. So for sure, we won't be changing what we do too much. I hope there comes a point in time where everybody starts to be a little more concerned about what we can achieve. I don't think we're too far away from that."
Smith's emphasis on consistency has been a plus for a team that constantly questioned their identity, well into this season. The chemistry is clear to see, as the Rapids have stuck with their game plan, challenging their opponents and clicking on all cylinders.
"We're confident," Colin Clark said, fresh off a key goal against New England last weekend, putting him a goal behind the team lead with four. "We're spending a lot more time on the ball. We're trying to possess it a lot more, and I think it shows. We're getting a lot more chances, and we're putting the other teams on their back foot, which is good for us."
Clark doesn't see a dramatic difference between the Rapids that have gone three games without losing and the same side that went four matches without winning just a few weeks earlier. He credits Smith's role as interim head coach after Fernando Clavijo's departure as an inevitable spark that the team has responded to by catching fire.
"With the new coach, we have a new mindset going forward," Clark said. "It's been great for the team. Not to take anything away from Fernando at all. He's a great coach. But always you'll see with sports teams, when a new coach comes in, the first couple of games, things are going to be great, working hard for that coach. It's coming back to us, and we're hoping to sustain that over the rest of the season."
Last week's draw with a strong New England team was a disappointment to the Rapids, who had just won two games in a row for the first time all season. But Colorado is determined to keep finding ways to pick up points on the road, where they'll play three of the next four weeks before ending their season at home against RSL in a game likely to have playoff implications.
"We're searching for those three points," Smith said. "I think everybody in this league right at this time, if they're achieving that three-point total every game, that's a great position to be in at this tight stage of the season."
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